Opening an antique shop and getting rich through all the worlds

Chapter 110

Shen You herself hadn’t noticed the red patch on the back of her hand until she held it under the light.

“It’s nothing, just accidentally burned myself earlier. It’ll fade on its own in a bit—”

Before she could finish speaking, Wen Zhi frowned and grabbed her hand with measured force.

In her bewilderment, Shen You only felt a wave of warmth pass over her, and the slight stinging sensation on the back of her hand actually disappeared.

The next second, Wen Zhi released her. Looking down again, the burned red patch was gone.

She’d long known that ordinary people couldn’t travel between different planes, but witnessing this scene still left Shen You somewhat dazed.

Wen Zhi looked at the items on the table. “You burned yourself just to cook this dark cuisine?”

“This isn’t dark cuisine!” Shen You cleared her throat and poured him a cup. “Actually, it’s… not bad.”

Last time she’d seen it selling for 25 yuan a cup on the street.

She was quite glad she hadn’t bought it then. It just tasted like hot milk, the floral tea fragrance wasn’t strong, not as good as directly eating the flower cakes on the plate.

Shen You suddenly thought of something and tapped twice on the system monitoring interface, projecting it outward.

“Someone who was exiled from the capital came to the shop. Take a look, is this the person you mentioned?”

Wen Zhi: “That’s him. Thank you. Put his expenses at the shop on my account.”

Shen You shook her head with a smile. “You’ve already brought official kiln dragon-patterned stem cups, how could I charge you for these small things?”

She picked up a sea salt taro stick from the wooden food tray lined with oil paper.

“That Mr. He seemed very surprised when he heard you were helping him.”

As if he’d never imagined Wen Zhi would have any connection to him.

“You told him it was me?” Wen Zhi lazily lifted his eyes, his pleasant voice carrying a hint of amusement.

Shen You paused. “I didn’t say it outright. It’s not forbidden to mention, is it?”

“No. Whether he knows or not makes no difference to me.”

Wen Zhi set down his cup and leaned back in the rocking chair. The casual movement still exuded the nobility that came from being raised in luxury.

“He Haizhou’s father was once a general under my command. He fought alongside me to drive out foreign tribes and recover Great Qi’s lost territories. On the battlefield, he blocked a blade meant for me and nearly lost his life.”

“In the end, he also assisted with the arrow that was meant to kill me.”

Wen Zhi spoke matter-of-factly, without a trace of emotion on his face, as if he weren’t talking about his own affairs but about someone irrelevant.

The scene from that day seemed to float before his eyes.

On the desolate battlefield, dark clouds obscured the sun. The armored general’s face was full of defeat and gray despair.

He knelt before him, saying he would repay with his life.

“For the sake of his family’s lives, and to preserve Great Qi’s emperor, he participated in sealing me in the stone coffin. Yet when I was being sealed, he refused to accept a nobility title, and raised his blade to take his own life as atonement. Tsk, humans are really contradictory.”

Watching his seemingly indifferent expression, Shen You felt her heart tighten. “Sealed… sealed in a stone coffin?”

“Yes.”

Wen Zhi tilted his head back slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his dark eyes carrying indifferent amusement.

His voice was clear and bright, yet somehow it made even the passing breeze feel several degrees colder.

“When the old emperor first took the throne, he probably really wanted to save Great Qi’s kingdom and people, so I made a deal with him. His life in exchange for Great Qi’s stability.”

Shen You had already guessed what happened next.

“He regretted it. No, he didn’t want to die anymore.”

She met Wen Zhi’s gaze and took a deep breath.

“You were just too young then. How could you trust an emperor? Those who promise to share the world, how many of them end well?”

“Young? Based on human age, are you sure I can use that word?” His dark eyes fixed on Shen You.

Anyone who could be sealed in a stone coffin and still live obviously couldn’t be normal. He’d even revealed that he wasn’t human.

Shen You seriously corrected him: “I’m referring to you back then. You understood people too little.”

Wen Zhi neither confirmed nor denied this. He had indeed underestimated the old emperor’s baseness.

“So you don’t trust Li Heng?”

“That depends on what matters. I trust him for transactions in the shop, but for other things, no.” Shen You said without hesitation.

She only trusted what she held in her own hands.

Anyone who could compete for the imperial throne, if they weren’t deep in thought and scheming, how could they possibly persist in such terrible circumstances?

For some reason, Wen Zhi actually looked somewhat pleased.

Shen You’s fingers tightened as she pressed further: “Your deal isn’t finished yet? Why are you still helping the He family?”

“Just a casual gesture. After all, he once blocked a blade for me.”

“From Great Qi’s standpoint, it was normal for General He to help the emperor. He’s already repaid with one life.”

Wen Zhi closed his eyes and continued: “For the first question, you’re right. The deal isn’t finished.”

“Even in different planes, I must follow the rules. The token for the deal is Great Qi’s founding emperor’s sword. If I can’t retrieve it before he dies, the deal will fail.”

“What happens if it fails?” Shen You’s voice unconsciously carried tension.

“I’ve never tried.” Wen Zhi’s lips curved upward. “Perhaps it will be as the old emperor wishes. I’ll be trapped in Great Qi until I perish.”

“You can still smile about this?” Shen You said irritably.

Wen Zhi’s slender fingers supported his chin as his bright eyes watched the vivid expressions on her face.

Thinking seriously, it seemed like she’d just been worried about him.

“Where did the old emperor hide the sword that even you can’t find it?” Shen You also found this somewhat incredible.

“The imperial mausoleum. I can find it, but the old emperor spent over thirty years transforming that place.”

“Once it’s sealed and then reopened, the several villages below will be destroyed by collapsed earth veins and flooding. In this plane, beyond the deal, I cannot actively harm human lives.”

Wen Zhi honestly revealed everything.

What Shen You thought was: Someone who could secure the throne in such circumstances was indeed ruthless.

Without thinking, she knew the old emperor definitely had ways to prevent the people in those villages from relocating.

“How much longer can he live?”

Wen Zhi thought for a moment. “About five or six months.”

“You absolutely must not cooperate with anyone who has inheritance rights to the throne.” Shen You reminded him.

Wen Zhi nodded, looking quite obedient.

Who would have thought this was the National Preceptor who once made foreign tribes flee in terror on the battlefield?

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Shen You still asked. “Or give me the structure of that imperial mausoleum. Perhaps someone in the antique circles knows how to handle it.”

After all, Great Qi’s construction level wasn’t bad, but their research into mountain and river terrain wouldn’t necessarily surpass the ages.

Wen Zhi opened his mouth and softly said, “Alright.”

He first used his phone to send Shen You the surrounding terrain, then drew the internal structure with paper and pen.

“Why did you mention me to He Haizhou?” He suddenly asked.

Shen You spoke directly: “From his experience of being convicted and exiled, he’s a rigid, upright, clean official. He’ll remember kindness shown during his downfall.”

Wen Zhi’s dark eyes flickered slightly. Looking at Shen You’s calm expression, warmth seemed to flow through his heart, a feeling he’d never experienced before.

After finishing the drawing, he handed it to Shen You, pointing to the characters on it with great solemnity:

“Look, isn’t this better written than that scholar’s calligraphy you fancied at the stall last time?”

Shen You: …He still remembered that.

“Yes.” She nodded, saying sincerely, “The drawing is indeed good, and the characters are beautiful too. You’d have an advantage restoring murals!”

Wen Zhi: ???